


Spy-tify Part 2

by loki_of_jotunheim



Series: Spy-tify 2020 [2]
Category: Alex Rider - Anthony Horowitz
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:00:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27124193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loki_of_jotunheim/pseuds/loki_of_jotunheim
Summary: Songs:"Wanted Man” by Royal Deluxe (from Valak)"Starting Over" by Chris Stapleton (from Hellacious)part 2 of the spy-tify series. Final part.The first chapter is what I had written. The second is what I had planned. This is not finished, and will not be.Edit in Nov. 2020: ....yeah so that was quite possibly an unintional lie. I might come back to this later this year, if I have time and energy. I do want to finish this out.
Series: Spy-tify 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1971913
Comments: 5
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mobilisinmobili](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mobilisinmobili/gifts), [Valaks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valaks/gifts), [TheInverseUniverse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheInverseUniverse/gifts).



> This will be my last Alex Rider fic. I don't know if that's not forever. For now, it is. 
> 
> To the people who gave me the songs for this arc: I am sorry this is not finished, I really am.
> 
> Edit in Nov. 2020 - mental health is...improving! So I might come back to this and finish it, but I probably will write more fic for the fandom.

Arc 2

“Have you seen this?” Mrs. Jones tossed a file with barely-repressed fury onto the desk sitting between them. “What have you done?” 

“Confirmed a theory.” Blunt answered. “He’s been unstable for a while, but I wanted to see if that extended to his loyalty. Clearly, it does.” 

“Confirmed a theory.” Mrs. Jones repeated quietly. “Are you out of your _mind?_ ” She rose from her chair, leaning on the desk and over Blunt. “Firstly, that is not an explanation. How does _that_ explain Alex going on a murder spree - specifically after our operations that all turn out to have some level of child labor involved? What did you _do_?” 

“Jack Starbright is dead.” Alan answered. Mrs. Jones stared at him for a good few seconds. 

“Did you order it?” She asked, ice in her tone. Blunt didn’t answer. “ _Did you order it?”_

“Yes.” Alan finally admitted. 

Mrs. Jones didn’t respond. She turned and went to the door but before she left, she looked back at Alan, directly in the eyes.

“If you ever pull me into something like this again, I will resign and submit everything to MI5, damned be the consequences to myself. Whatever Alex does now is on your own head.” 

The door shut behind her with a soft _click_.

The cells below the headquarters of MI6 were cramped and the hallway dark. Sound didn’t escape the floor, but footsteps echoed as you walked down the small corridor in between the small glorified cages. 

Currently, the cells were mostly empty - aside from two of them. The corridor cell at the farthest end was occupied by a man who looked as if he hadn’t seen sun in years. It almost could have been true. 

The cell closest to the other end was also occupied - and the occupant wasn’t one that could really be expected in a place so highly secretive and official. Indeed, the occupant in question wasn’t quite sure what they were doing here either - but they were furious. 

Their first few days had been accompanied by yelling at the guards when they came in. The occupant at the opposite end had observed quietly, a slight hint of reluctant amusement in their gaze - had the other prisoner looked. The younger one kept up the yelling - which not even the guards threatening the rebellious internee stopped - for a good few weeks before they deemed it pointless and opted for silent resistance instead. 

The situation was as such when the man finally spoke to the newer detainee. 

He stood up from the cell bed and leaned onto the bars before he spoke. 

“You know Alex Rider?” He said simply. 

Tom was worried about Alex.

He hadn’t shown back up to school since Jack had died. Tom wasn’t a spy but he wasn’t entirely oblivious, and he had the feeling Alex’s last “assignment” and Jack’s death had been connected. The official story was a heart attack but Tom had been passing by on his way home from school when the police had shown up. He’d overheard them talking about a gunshot. Alex hadn’t even noticed him waiting on the sidewalk. Tom wouldn’t have either, in his position. 

But it had been a good few months and Alex still hadn’t shown back up at school. Or at home, and Tom was worried about his best friend. 

He idly flipped through some of the chanels and stopped on the news as a familiar name was said. 

“MI6 has put out a bulletin on one Alex Rider - a 15 year old. What a 15 year old could have to do with an intelligence agency, I’m not sure, but it must be something big.” The newscaster laughed, like it was a joke to her, and Tom almost threw the remote. _You have no idea what he’s been through!_ “The bulletin requests that any sightings of Alex be reported immediately to the police as he is wanted for questioning by the agency. He is described as having….” Tom didn’t hear the rest of the description or see the picture. 

He knew what Alex was doing. 

He was going to _murder_ that git. Trained spy or not.

Meanwhile, Alex was in Ukraine - taking a small break. It had been a tiring few weeks and he had found a place to hole up for a few days to rest. 

He bought a new phone - to be disposed of shortly - and stared at it. There was no guarantee that Tom would even want to talk to him.

He finally dialed the number and waited, anxiety coiling in his chest. 

“Alex, you git, I’m going to murder you.” Tom answered on the second ring. “Are you okay?” 

“Uh, yeah.” A surprised laugh escaped Alex. “I’m okay. Safe.” 

“You were on the news, you asshole. I thought you promised me you’d tell me before you ran off again.” 

“Sorry…” Alex said sheepishly. “It wasn’t entirely planned.” 

“I can imagine not.” Tom said sympathetically. “I heard about Jack. They’re saying it was a heart attack but that’s bollocks.” 

“They’re - wait, what?” Alex sat up. “How’d you - “

“I might not be a trained spy - or currently on the run from MI6 - but I’m not dumb.” Alex could hear him rolling his eyes. “I was coming home from school - film club stuff - and I saw the cars and heard them talking about it.” 

“So you know it was…” 

“Murder? Yeah.” Tom said grimly. “Do you have any idea who it is?” 

“I’ve got some ideas.” Alex said darkly. “MI6 being at the top of that list.” Tom was silent. Alex wasn’t sure what it meant. 

“I’d say I’m surprised, but really, I’m not. After what happened with Cray and everything you’ve told me, I’m really not.” Tom sighed. “So I assume you’re trying to …. Get revenge or something?” 

“Or something.” Alex agreed. “I….don’t know if you’re going to like it.” 

“Does it have to do with what happened in Venice?” Tom asked. 

“I’m not back with SCORPIA if that’s what you mean.” Alex said hesitatingly. “It’s not...the same stuff, though. As what I used to do.” 

“There was a mention of a meetup gone wrong in some area a few days ago - it turns out MI6 had some people meeting with an arms dealing group who used child labor. It was buried in the back of some obscure newspaper. That was you, wasn’t it?” 

Alex didn’t answer. If he was being entirely honest, he was scared of Tom’s reaction.

“I mean, honestly, in your position, I’d have probably gone off a lot earlier.” Tom continued. “Just...don’t die, alright? And don’t get caught, okay? I need my best friend alive.” 

Tom paused, probably to recompose himself. Alex sank into the bed, a flood of relief washing over him. “If they come around asking I’m not telling them _anything_.” 

“Tom -” Alex didn’t know what to say. He was expecting Tom to yell at him or something other than this. “Thank you.” He said quietly instead. 

“At some point, we’ll have to figure out a way to meet up. I can show you that picture I finally finished editing. You managed to stand in _just_ the right spot to make it a total pain, you jerk. But I got it fixed.” 

“I’d like to do that.” Alex agreed, warmly. “I’ll...call you when I’ve got a more secure permanent line, yeah?” 

“You do that. Alex?” 

“Yeah?”  
“Thanks for trusting me. And calling me.” Tom said softly. “See you soon hopefully.” 

“You - you too, Tom.” Alex smiled. “See you soon.”

Back in MI6 headquarters, the other prisoner looked down at the source of the voice that had just spoken. A blonde man was at the far end - she’d thought she was alone down here. 

“How do you know Alex?” She asked suspiciously. She thought the man smiled, but she wasn’t sure. 

“I knew his father.” The man explained. Wait - 

“You’re Yassen?” She exclaimed, barely quieting her voice in time. “Alex said you were dead.” 

“It turns out MI6 is very good at doing that.” Yassen’s lips twisted in a small wry expression. “And I would presume you’re Jack Starbright.” 

“How did - of course you do.” Jack muttered. “Alex said you saved his life.” 

“I tried. Until you arrived -” Yassen shrugged. “I had no confirmation he was alive until now.” 

“Well, as far as I know he’s still alive but I’m not sure either.” Jack forced down the worry. “They had someone in my house - supposedly I needed to go to Alex’s school. I stopped by the house for a brief snack before I went to the school and there was someone in the kitchen waiting for me.” Jack stopped before she could keep thinking about after. “I woke up here.”

“Alex is resourceful.” Yassen said factually. “He’s most likely still alive.” 

“He thinks I’m dead.” Jack leaned heavily against the wall. “Probably.” 

Yassen straightened and seemed alert in a way he hadn’t before. Jack understood the way Alex had described him in the past suddenly and was infinitely grateful that the assassin had decided to spare Alex for whatever reason. 

“We need to leave, if he’s been convinced of that.” Yassen said. “Alex is a lot like myself at that age.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I thought John Rider had betrayed me to SCORPIA at slightly older and ended up here.” Yassen explained simply. 

“Oh.” Jack said. That made a lot more sense than she’d have liked it to - but if she was in his shoes, and she wasn’t feeling too charitable to MI6 herself. “So how do we leave?”

On a tiny island in Venice, the new head of SCORPIA was meeting with the new head of Mastegelo. There had been major changes in leadership - one mysterious death after another assassination - and the two were looking through an old file. 

_Name: Alex Rider_ _  
__Age: 14_

_Scores: …….._

_Notes: …….._ _  
__Assessment:_ ~~ _Ready for assignment_~~

**THREAT**

“You’re reconsidering his assessment status.” The head of Mastegelo - a younger man by the name of Daniel Travis - said to the woman - Nicola Baxter (co-head). 

“I am.” She agreed. “Julia Rothman and her grudge seem to have been the catalyst for that particular mess. And our young Alex seems to have completed what he didn’t then, if the recent strings of mysterious MI6 deaths are any indication.” 

“He might not want to come back.” Daniel pointed out. “Especially considering our predecessors did try and have him assassinated. Speaking of, is the capture or kill order still out for him?” 

“I’ll have it rescinded if it is.” Nicola answered. “We’ll let that sit for a while - and if he doesn’t approach within a year or so, I’ll start on it myself.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited with the rest of this chapter, and I *will* be finishing this at some point entirely. I've gotten through some more, and I'll post the next chapter when I've gotten the entire thing done so I can have a decent schedule to it or at least have it finished lol!

“So you could have escaped a long time ago.” Jack stared at the ease in which Yassen had freed them both. “Why didn’t you? Not that I’m not grateful or anything, I’m just wondering why you’re still here.” 

“MI6, amongst other agencies, would be constantly hunting me. I had been planning to retire after Cray. For the time, MI6 hasn’t done anything besides imprison me and so it wasn’t quite worth it.” Yassen shrugged. “Circumstances have now changed.” 

“They have indeed.” Jack murmured. The two managed to sneak out of the building without being spotted - the cell’s stairwell was close to a fire escape that Yassen disabled the alarm of quickly - and Yassen led them through the busy streets, handing some clothing he’d procured as they walked. Jack didn’t ask where they’d come from and slid them on. 

The two of them made it to the trains without any further issues, and made their way out of London without pursuit. 

“I’ll retrieve some ID’s for us - we’ll be going to an old safehouse in Spain I have. I need to get information.” Yassen said. “There’s a shop a few hours from here that can provide them. Just follow me and watch.” 

“Alright.” Jack agreed. 

“Sir!” A younger agent ran into the office where Blunt was having a meeting with one of the department heads. “Sir! Downstairs - “ 

“What is it?” Blunt rose quickly, his face showing more expression than anyone had seen from him. 

“The prisoners are gone, sir.” The agent said. “A few minutes ago. We lost them on the train station.” 

“ _Both_ of them?” Blunt demanded as they marched downstairs. True to the agent's words, the cells were empty. As if to add insult to injury, the tracker from Yassen was lying on the bed. They hadn’t had one put on Jack yet. “Get a full search started. They can’t be far. Keep it quiet.” 

“Yes, sir.” The agent said, and rushed upstairs to do so.

Blunt stood in the empty corridor for a moment longer. 

“Dammit.” He finally muttered.

Alex browsed the latest intel reports almost lazily. There weren’t any missions to complete for now and so he scrolled the page, a bored expression on his face. No-one paid the teenager at the cafe any attention. 

One report caught his eye and he felt his eyebrows raise as he read the report. Two prisoners had escaped from MI6 holding cells and were currently on the loose?  
That sounded interesting. Alex saved the report and booked a train ticket to London. He had somewhere to be.

A few hours later, a brown haired teenager - appearing 16 or 17 - made their way out of the terminal in London and headed toward Liverpool. No alarms sounded as this wasn’t Alex Rider, this was John Baker, from the United States, currently attending school in the UK. He wasn’t the teenage-spy-turned-assassin and so the computers ignored him. 

Underneath the disguise, Alex smiled. 

“This is a _safehouse_?” Jack exclaimed. Her red hair had been dyed brown and she was wearing colored contacts. “This looks like a retirement home.” 

“It could be both.” Yassen answered. “There’s a bedroom on the next floor on your right that should work for you. The kitchen is through those doors there, and my room will be on this floor through those doors over here.” He gave a brief gesture at the rooms in question. “The living room is just through those doors. There’s nothing here that shouldn’t be here, so feel free to roam. If you go out, remember what I told you on the way here. If I’m not here, leave a note if you do.” 

“Got it.” Jack nodded. “I’ll just put this stuff upstairs for now.” 

Yassen nodded. “I’ll be working on getting up to date information and see if I can’t get a message out to our rouge teenager.” 

Jack headed upstairs and to her bedroom. It was much bigger than hers and she had more space than she would need ever for her things. The bathroom was just as spacious. After the examination of her room, she headed to the kitchen to see if there was anything to eat. She was getting hungry. 

A few hours later, Yassen sat back in his chair after hitting _Post_ on the intel board. It was an encoded message, but he was confident Alex would see it. 

What he’d learned about Alex had been...interesting, to say the least. What he could find out about the assignments MI6 had sent him off on was somewhat scarce, but it was enough to piece together a rough timeline. 

Yassen had read through what he could find of the SCORPIA debacle as well. At one point, he’d sat back and let out a measured breath. While he was grateful Alex hadn’t ended up as a SCORPIA agent at the time, he was pragmatic enough to admit that that was, in no short terms, a major fuckup on Julia Rothman’s part. 

Caught back up, he closed the files and board and decided to check on Jack Starbright. She was an interesting character. She’d originally become Alex’s nanny when Ian had needed a caregiver, but stayed on after Ian’s death and had turned out to be a steadfast friend and sister figure for the young teen - enough to be considered useful as leverage when MI6 needed a way to get the teen to cooperate. 

Right now, the American in question was attempting to heat something in the microwave and staring at it anxiously. Yassen watched her for a moment, silent, in the doorway, as she opened the machine in question almost as soon as it went off. Still not having noticed Yassen, she let out a quiet cheer and turned to go to the counter. 

It was then she noticed Yassen and she jumped, managing though to keep a firm grip on her plate. 

“Yassen!” She exclaimed. “You startled me. I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised, I got used to Alex doing that after a while. Honestly, I don’t think he even noticed he did it.” 

“It becomes a habit at a certain point.” Yassen agreed, crossing to the refrigerator and opening it. Empty shelves reminded him that no-one had been here in several years, and he closed it, reminding himself to go to the grocery store soon. “Do you need anything in particular from the grocery store when I go?” 

“More stuff to microwave.” Jack answered immediately. “It’s about the only thing I can cook that won’t start a fire and I would hate to start one here.”

“I’ll get you food to microwave.” Yassen noted it. “Did your parents not teach you?” 

“They tried, but it got lost after surviving in college off of cheap microwave food and I never quite managed to pick it back up.” Jack smiled ruefully. “Alex tried to help a few times, but considering neither of us knew how to cook, it didn't go very well.” 

“I could teach you.” Yassen offered. “There’s plenty of time, and it will help with boredom.” 

“I thought you’d be busy, with trying to contact Alex and everything.” 

“It’ll take a good portion.” Yassen allowed. “I’ll have time off still, and it’s relaxing.” 

“Well, in that case, if you’re up for it.” Jack grinned. “Speaking of Alex...have you heard anything?” 

“Not yet.” Yassen sat down at the counter. “I’ve posted a message for him to find. Once I get contact, I’ll tell you.” 

“Good. Thanks.” Jack let out a sigh. “I hope he’s okay.” 

Yassen didn’t disagree. 

Alex settled into the chair in the safehouse and pulled up the message board again. A newer message caught his eye - posted by someone called Hokie. Alex clicked it, curious to who the new poster was with a ridiculous name like _that._

He sat back in stunned silence after reading through the post. It couldn’t be. There was absolutely no way that he was alive. Anger started burning and he clicked the “accept” on impulse. Whoever was playing some sort of sick joke would realize just how unamused he was when he showed up. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some minor edits have been made to previous chapters (mostly the first), spelling and adding a word. Nothing plot changing, just clarifying,

“I have contact. I’m meeting with him in an older industrial lot a few miles away.” Yassen announced the next morning. “We’ll return right after. I’d rather you stay here - I don’t know for certain MI6 or other parties aren’t going to catch wind of this.” Yassen finished seriously. 

“As much as I hate that, you’re probably right.” Jack muttered. “But bring him right back, you hear? I might not be an assassin but I’ll find something if you two don’t get back here.” 

“Either we both return, or I don’t return at all.” Yassen promised. “In the event that I don’t return, this will be the safest place for you, so do not leave until I get back or it’s been a week.” 

“Until you get back or it’s been a week. Got it.” Jack nodded. “When are you going?” 

“I’m leaving in a few minutes - I just saw the posting,” Yassen said, vanishing into the living room briefly before reemerging, tucking something away. Jack assumed it was a weapon of some sort. “We’ll be back.” 

Jack nodded and watched Yassen leave. 

Alex scanned the area from an adjacent rooftop and frowned at the lack of seeming traps. Either this wasn’t the location (unlikely) or the poster really was serious (more unlikely - he’d seen the man die). 

Movement at the edge of the wide space caught his eye and he peered through the binoculars at the man approaching.

The catlike walk - the icey blue eyes - the calm, unbothered demeanor - 

It  _ couldn’t _ be. 

But Alex also knew no-one could successfully imitate the man well enough to pull it off that well. 

Which meant - 

“How the fuck are you alive?” Alex called from the rooftop, setting the rifle on it’s side and scooting forwards so he was just perching on the edge. 

“MI6’s extreme reluctance in letting anything go.” Yassen Gregorovich quirked a small smile. “Do you mind joining me down here, or should I come up there?” 

“I’ll come down there.” Alex decided. He packed everything quickly and attached the rope to the edge, sliding down quickly. After he’d packed that away, he turned to face Yassen. 

The two stood in silence, Yassen examining him closely and Alex feeling strangely defensive. 

“There’s someone who’d like to see you, little Alex.” Yassen finally said. “No, not MI6 or Scorpia - someone else. Mind accompanying me a few miles?” 

Alex nodded slowly. 

“My car or yours?” He asked. 

“Yours - I can procure another or just come back.” Yassen answered. Alex nodded and led the way back to his temporary car. It was a small, nondescript sedan, and Yassen slid into the passenger seat comfortably as Alex took the wheel. 

“MI6 managed to bring you back?” Alex asked after a minute or so. “I thought you died on the plane. 

“So had I.” Yassen agreed. “It was as much a surprise to me that I woke up. After I’d recovered enough to be moved, I was taken to their holding cells below their headquarters. I broke out a few days ago with another prisoner.” 

“Is this the person we’re meeting?” Alex said. He wasn’t really sure why he was trusting Yassen not to be leading him into a trap - while Yassen hadn’t before, this should have been setting off all sorts of alarm bells since recent events. Alex let it go for the moment. 

“It is.” Yassen answered. “Turn here, keep going. There’s a house at the end. She didn’t seem like she fit there much at all.” 

“Wait -  _ she _ ?” Alex’s brain caught on the word and he sped up. The house appeared in front and Alex barely had the car in park before he was up and running for the person standing on the porch, who caught him and hugged him tightly. Alex didn’t even notice the tears running down his face as he clung tightly to the one person he thought had been gone for good. 

Yassen watched the two cling tightly to each other and gently pushed the two into the house and closed the door behind them (not that they noticed, honestly). Years of stress seemed to have drained off of both of them, and Yassen privately admitted something had settled for him as well at seeing Alex again. 

The three settled in the living room for a bit, Alex incredibly reluctant to part from Jack’s side for more than a few seconds. Yassen ignored the tear tracks on Alex’s face - it was an entirely understandable reaction. 

“What are your plans?” Yassen broke the silence that had fallen as they all relaxed on the couches. “You can’t go back the London.” 

“Obviously.” Alex clearly had to resist rolling his eyes, the teenager he really was shining through briefly. “I’m not sure anymore. I had just planned to get Blunt and Jones out of their positions. Make sure MI6 couldn’t get another 16 year old to do their dirty work and then…” Alex shrugged. “Beyond that, I’m really not sure. I guess I could go to school somewhere else?” He didn’t sound too enthusiastic at the prospect. 

Yassen wasn’t surprised. When someone killed for the first time, it changed them. When they’d started a career in it (and Alex had decidedly started a freelancing career), it was very difficult to go back to before as an adult. A traumatized teenager would have a much rougher time. 

“And I think working for an intelligence agency legally is out of the question too.” Jack said, surprising both Yassen and Alex. “Do I even need to explain MI6? And the CIA is just as bad.” Jack glanced briefly at the older man. “Yassen’s told me some of what’s been happening lately. For the record, I probably would have done the same if I’d been you.” 

“What exactly did he tell you?” Alex said hesitantly. 

“He said you’ve been freelancing. I’m not a spy but I’m not entirely oblivious.” Jack briefly gave him a reassuring squeeze on the arm. “I’m not going to run off if you continue with whatever this is. Or if you stop. I’m staying.”

“You’re staying?” Alex repeated. Yassen felt a slight pang of sympathy for the teenager - he was getting smacked in the face emotionally, so to speak, and Yassen knew he wouldn’t have fared much better at that age. 

“I’m staying.” Jack reiterated firmly. “If we’re on the run for the rest of our lives, whatever you end up doing, I’m staying. Goodness knows you need that.”

Alex finally managed to stop reeling when Yassen spoke again. An ache had formed at how MI6 had clearly hurt Jack. Just another thing to add to his list of reasons Blunt and Jones needed to be taken down. 

“If we do go on the run, I can teach you.” Yassen continued. “Both of you. It’ll be a bit of a crash course for Jack, but you’re smart and capable of it.” 

“What’s the group you ran off with last year?” Jack asked. Alex and Yassen both looked at her like she was crazy. “I’m not suggesting them, to be clear. Didn’t they try and kill you?”

“SCORPIA.” Alex answered. “And yeah.” 

“The kill on sight order was rescinded.” Yassen added helpfully. “There’s been a major overhaul in leadership and operations.” 

“What kind of overhaul?” Alex asked warily. He admitted to himself the idea wasn’t entirely untempting. People there had treated him as capable, it paid well from what he understood and well...he was a different person from the teenager who had gone there.

A year was a long period of time. 

“From what I understand, their leadership has tried to shift back to their original purpose - intelligence the government can’t or won’t own up to, amongst other things.” Yassen explained. “Three, Rothman, Chase, Yu, most of the board is dead, the rest are in hiding or not a threat. I believe some resigned fairly early on when things clearly started going against them.” 

“Have they contacted you?” Alex asked. 

“Not yet, but they also believe me to still be dead.” Yassen answered. 

“So you’re saying it might not be a bad idea.” Alex sat back. 

“I’m not trying to convince you of anything.” Yassen refuted. “I’m just putting the options out there and giving you updated information. I suspect that would not have been on your list of priorities.” 

It hadn’t been, Alex admitted to himself. 

“What do you think?” Alex asked Jack finally. He didn’t want to drag her somewhere she didn’t want to be. 

“If it’s safe for you, and it’s something you’re interested in, I’m up for it.” Jack answered. “I could probably find something nearby to do that’s not involved with any of this if it turns out I can’t handle it.” 

“Financing and business operations are a part of any operation.” Yassen pointed out. “There’ll be something for you.” 

“Sleep on it, maybe,” Jack suggested. “We’ve got time.” 

Alex agreed. They did have time and it was a lot to think about. 


	4. Chapter 4 - Epilouge

There was a show playing on the television - some sci-fi program - but Jack was paying more attention to Alex. He looked tired - much less tired than he was when she’d first seen him - but still like he needed sleep and just a break. 

Jack couldn’t say she didn’t, either. Being held prisoner by MI6 was not an experience she wished to repeat again and she didn’t want Alex anywhere near them, either. Her heart broke again as she remembered the realization of his inability to have a normal life again. He couldn’t go back to school - not just because he was a fugitive, but because sitting in a classroom with other students who had no idea what he had dealt with would drive him mad. University was out for the same reasons, at least at the moment. He couldn’t go back to the UK (privately, Jack was glad. The further away from those bastards at MI6, the better), and the US was out for the same reason. 

The “school for being an assassin” was honestly their best option, at least from what Jack could see. Alex had already crossed the point of no return for not having that on his resume. She couldn’t find it in her to be upset that he was on that side of things - MI6 would have ended up there eventually most likely. 

The best she could do was be there for him, so be there for him she would. She might even be able to finish some of her school or do something she enjoyed without having to worry about MI6 on top of it. 

Alex had drifted to sleep and was leaning on her shoulder when she shook herself out of her thoughts. He looked so relaxed asleep. Jack caught Yassen watching him too. 

“You think I can get him upstairs without waking him up?” She whispered. Alex didn’t even stir. Yassen nodded, a tiny quirk of a smile appearing. “See you in the morning.”

“Goodnight,” Yassen whispered back. 

Nicole Baxter was checking her email the next morning when a sender caught her attention - the email from a Cossack. 

It turned out Cossack wasn’t as dead as everyone thought, and Alex Rider and his guardian - Jack - were currently with the man. The three of them seemed to have formed a team of sorts. 

Cossack had expressed interest in returning with Alex (no codename yet) and with Jack as well. Nicole could think of several places the American would fit well without needing her to cross whatever lines she had and mentioned as much in her reply. 

Shortly after a brief flurry of conversation, Nicole was organizing three rooms and adjusting classes for the next week. They had some students and a teacher arriving. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where I will leave it for now. Maybe I'll come back to it, but I've pretty much hit what I wanted to with this story lol. I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
